---
title: "Quick Start — TeXForge docs | UniverLab"
source: "https://univerlab.org/texforge/docs/quickstart/"
---

[← TeXForge](/texforge/)Documentation

# Quick Start

Last updated 2026 · Sol 224 · 13:33 UTC (2026-08-12T13:33Z)

## New project

    texforge new my-thesis
    cd my-thesis
    texforge build

That’s it: `my-thesis.pdf` is ready in the project root. On the very first build texforge downloads Tectonic (the LaTeX engine) automatically — no TeX distribution needed.

## Interactive wizard

If you prefer a guided flow, `texforge init` auto-detects the context:

*   If a `.tex` file with `\documentclass` is found in the current directory, it **migrates the existing project**: asks for title and author and generates `project.toml`.
*   Otherwise it **guides the creation of a new project**: asks for name and template.

    # Existing LaTeX project
    cd my-existing-thesis/
    texforge init
    
    # Empty directory
    mkdir my-new-doc && cd my-new-doc
    texforge init

## The everyday loop

    texforge check          # lint: missing files, broken refs, unclosed envs
    texforge fmt            # normalize formatting
    texforge build          # compile to <title>.pdf in the project root
    texforge build --watch  # rebuild automatically while you edit

`texforge check` also validates spelling using language-specific dictionaries (detected from your document or configured as a fallback).

## Project layout

A texforge project is a regular LaTeX project plus a `project.toml` manifest:

    my-thesis/
    ├── project.toml     # document metadata and build entry point
    ├── main.tex
    ├── sections/        # chapters, sections (depends on template)
    ├── bib/             # bibliography (depends on template)
    └── my-thesis.pdf    # generated by texforge build

See [Configuration](/texforge/docs/configuration/) for the `project.toml` format and [Templates](/texforge/docs/templates/) for the available starting points.